gavel

Judgment.

It’s a hefty word, right?  I hear it and I just bristle.  Because we bat it around as if it were our rightful Wiffle ball to hit any which way we choose.

But really, we don’t.  Mostly because our judgment is based on personal prejudice and experience.  We formulate judgment with faulty facts and internal bias.  It’s hard for us to assess properly from an unfiltered place.

Amanda Gore, an energetic and delightful speaker, says, “Use judgment.  Don’t make judgment.”  Love it.  Hits the nail on the head for Buddha Balboa.

Perhaps if we spent a little less time judging, and more time trying to understand and empathize, we may be able to see people and situations as they truly are – broken, fragile, searching, yearning. 

We all do it.  I do it.  I make private unspoken judgments in my mind all day long.  But I catch this behavior and remind myself that I am not the judge.  I am not the jury.  We are all fellow passengers.

Put down your gavel.  It’s noisy.